Tag: Change Management

Challenges in Digital Key Account Management Adoption and the need for Change Management

Digital Key Account Management is the process of managing and growing a company’s most important customers using digital tools and technologies. It is essential for Sales Enablement, as it enables businesses to manage their key accounts more efficiently and effectively. However, adopting Digital solutions for your Key Account Management process comes with its set of challenges. Challenges in adopting Digital Key Account Management for Sales Enablement 1. Integration with Existing Systems One of the main challenges of adopting Digital Key Account Management is integrating it with existing systems. Many businesses use a variety of digital tools and platforms to manage their key accounts, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Marketing Automation software, and Business Intelligence tools. Integrating a new Digital Key Account Management tool with these existing systems can be complex and time-consuming, requiring significant investment in IT infrastructure and resources. Finding a solution that can integrate well into your existing sales tech stack is thus essential. 2. Maturity Level and Discipline Before adopting Digital KAM tools, businesses need to assess their readiness to leverage these tools effectively. This requires having a clear understanding of the organization’s maturity level and discipline. Is the organization ready to adopt a digital approach to account planning, and does it have the discipline to use it effectively? Implementing Digital Key Account Management tools requires discipline, as it involves following a set of processes and procedures consistently. Therefore, businesses need to assess their level of discipline and maturity before adopting. 3. Account Complexity As accounts grow in complexity, businesses need a strategic view to manage them effectively. Digital Key Account Management tools can help businesses manage complex accounts effectively by providing a comprehensive view of the account and its activities. Therefore, businesses need to assess the complexity of their accounts before adopting Digital KAM tools. 4. Changing Client Needs Businesses are constantly evolving, and client needs are changing rapidly. Therefore, businesses need to keep a dynamic planning approach to stay aligned with their changing needs. There is a need to stay aligned with their clients’ changing needs by providing real-time data and analytics. Therefore, Digital Key Account Management tools need to be able to keep up with the evolving needs of their clients. 5. Resistance to Change One of the biggest challenges of adopting Digital Key Account Management is resistance to change. Many sales teams may be hesitant to adopt new digital tools and technologies, as they may be comfortable with their existing processes. Resistance to change can slow down the adoption process, and even derail it altogether. Sales Enablement leaders must work with sales teams to overcome resistance to change by showing them the benefits of the digital tool being adopted and providing training and support, and involve them in the decision-making process. Need for Change Management Sales teams and stakeholders need to both be on board with changes. Here are a few reasons why change management is necessary for successful implementation of digital account planning solutions: 1. Combating Resistance to Change As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest challenges to adopting digital key account management solutions is resistance to change. With the right change management processes, this resistance can be curbed. Enthusiastic early adopters and tech-savvy team members who are less resistant to change are vital to overcoming the inertia that usually follows any major changes that are implemented in a digital ecosystem. 2. Clear Communication Effective communication is critical in any change management initiative, including Digital Key Account Management. It is essential to communicate the changes, the reasons for the changes, and how the changes will affect the sales team overall and other stakeholders. Clear communication can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there is a shared understanding of the goals.  3. User Adoption If the sales team and other stakeholders do not adopt the new digital tools and processes, the implementation will not be successful. Change management can help to ensure that the sales team and other stakeholders are prepared to adopt the new digital tools and processes by providing training and support and involving them in the decision-making process. 4. Managing Expectations It is essential to set realistic expectations about what a shift to digital account planning can achieve and the timeline for achieving those outcomes. Managing expectations can help to avoid disappointment and frustration, which can lead to resistance to change. Download: Change Management Guide for Sales Leaders to Implement Digital Account Management Software How does one go about championing a change to Digital Key Account Management? There are three main criteria that go into championing the change to Digital Key Account Management 1. Aligning with your organization: Did you know that the tools and language used in the organization’s daily life might not be the same as the standard? It’s important to make sure that the requirements are aligned before implementing anything. Plus, aligning with previously existing systems also reduced naysayers when it comes to the adoption of a new digital Key Account Management tool.  2. Getting a team of ‘Advocates’: Having a group of beta testers or advocates can make it much easier to introduce new tools to your organization. These advocates are essentially super users who have tried out the tool, which means any issues can be sorted out before they roll it out to the organization. Plus, they can help others get trained on the new system, acting as champions for the change. Having these ‘advocates’ on board can make a huge difference when it comes to shifting to a digital key account management practice. Ensuring that you have the right early adopters is essential for showing value. It takes time to embrace change, and the right early adopters can speed up the process to show the value of adopting a new digital ecosystem that might be something they are not used to. It is a challenge to set aside time to take up something new, but enthusiastic early adopters can accelerate this adoption. 3. Support from

Ebook: AI-Assisted Account Planning – Conversations of the Future Part 1

The Future of AI-Assisted Account Planning The future of account planning is here, and it’s time to take advantage of it! Let’s ask Mindy, our helpful AI, and learn more about the role of AI in account planning and find out how AI-assisted account planning can revolutionize the way we do business. This is a 3-part series where we discuss the potential of artificial intelligence, build on connected apps ecosystem, and understand how a shift towards a digital-first mindset is changing how we approach key account management.

The Need to Spearhead Change in Digital Key Account Management

As Key Account Management practices head towards a virtual direction, technology takes the center stage. Account Managers and Sales Leaders have to accommodate changing customer trends and expectations. DemandFarm’s  Dr. Karthik Nagendra – Chief Marketing Officer had a one-on-one conversation with Jennifer Smith-Byers – VP Client Services, from TaskUs on the journey to Digital Key Account Management. The following sections cover some of the inputs from the discussion about the factors, challenges and advantages that arise from transitioning into a digital era of Key Account Management. Increasing Revenues from Key Accounts is the need of the hour!  In the post-pandemic digital age, the main priority for organizations has been increasing the revenue from their key accounts. ‘Digital’ is at the core of all functions and that has invariably transmitted to the B2B space and Key Account Management as well. For Jenny Smith-Byers, “Any company that’s able to secure large accounts need to continue to foster those accounts not only in order to grow them, but also to maintain them and those are key to our success.” Continued growth as a business involves retaining key accounts since that is where most of the revenue for an organization comes from. Large accounts are very complex and to ensure continuing business from them requires a strategic approach to handling those accounts.  Traditionally, account plans were created once a year and were reviewed across the executive team in the account or product side. But now-a-days, plans change very quickly. When PPTs and Excel Sheets were the norm before, updates were also irregular. Digital Account Planning tools these days, however, encourage us to view Key Account Management as a dynamic rather than a static process.  Factors to consider when making a shift to digital key account management tool Ensure you are at the right maturity level Have the discipline to fully leverage a tool Executive buy-in across the organization to ensure adoption Need to keep a dynamic planning approach Choose the right champions to drive transformation Ability to integrate into your existing tools Ensure you get the right training and support across the organization Choose the right partner to advocate for you and help you build strategic relationships as you use the digital tool Checklist: How to Select the Ideal Digital Account Planning Tool Challenges Faced With any kind of transformation within an organization, there are a bunch of challenges to be encountered. When shifting to Digital Key Account Management as well, there are a few hurdles to overcome. 1) Client Face Time Think about the impact on customer/client face time & ensure more internal steps or processes aren’t being added is a major concern. This could pull away the account team from spending valuable time building relationships. 2) Integration Integration into other business tools used by your organization, particularly financial tools. You need to be able to get real-time updates of where you’re at in terms of revenue tracking against your plan and budget for the year. 3) Getting the right early adopters It takes time to change things if one is used to a way of doing things. To show the value of adopting a new digital ecosystem and setting aside time to get everything set up is a challenge.  How does one go about championing a change to Digital Key Account Management? For Jenny, there are three main criteria that go into championing the change to Digital KAM. 1) Aligning with your organization: Existing tools, and language used in the daily life of the organization might be different from the standard. So ensuring that the requirements were aligned before implementing was crucial. Aligning with previously existing systems also reduced naysayers when it comes to adoption of a new digital Key Account Management tool. 2) Getting a team of ‘Advocates’: Having a team of beta testers or advocates who have tried out the tool will make it easier to roll it out to the entire organization. Any sort of issues can be cleared up in the trial stages and these super users will act as champions to help others get trained in shifting to a digital key account management practice. 3) Support from Senior Leadership: Support from senior leadership is critical for efficient change management to ensure that transition to a digital ecosystem runs smoothly. Download: Change Management Guide for Sales Leaders to Implement Digital Account Management Software Advantages of taking a digital approach to Key Account Management For Jenny, 5 huge advantages stand out from adopting a digital KAM framework for Account Planning. 1) Consistency: There is consistency and straightforwardness when it comes to updating account plans. A real understanding of the client, their relationships, who the buyers are and what drives their decisions is available easily.  2) Adaptability: To be able to quickly adjust account plans is a huge benefit of digital KAM tools. It becomes easier to fit what your client is doing and the innovation that comes with a digital KAM tool also makes account plans more effective. For Jenny, having a digital tool simplifies a lot of processes and someone new coming to the organization can pick up an account quickly as it is already established.  “For me it was a kind of AHA moment. We had a new Chief Operating Officer who joined the company and we wanted to introduce him to the key accounts across the organization. We didn’t didn’t do anything other than leverage DemandFarm. We used the Grandstand feature, walked them through the accounts – these are key people we meet with; these are our strengths, opportunities, threats, weaknesses; these are the areas we’re going after… We used everything in the tool and there was no extra prep. There wasn’t anything that caused us to spend a lot of extra time preparing charts for a new executive,” says Jenny. 3) Strategic thinking about Client Relationships Having an integrated, simple approach gives rise to a step-by-step flow thinking or strategic thinking about client relationships. Aligning focus and building on growth opportunities then gets standardized

Digitalization of B2B Sales Interactions: Technological Changes in Key Account Management Processes

B2B interactions today are primarily taking place in digital channels. In a recent Forrester Sales Enablement Report, the report indicates that the average number of buying interactions has surged since the pandemic; from 17 pre-pandemic to 27 post-pandemic. Hybrid and virtual selling environments (partially forced by the pandemic) have made buyers innately digital these days. These ‘new buyers’ have needs and expectations that do not necessarily line up with traditional B2B sales and selling methods. B2B interactions typically happen these days without even meeting the salespersons directly on digital channels.  The question of the hour is, at a time of such huge shifts to digital ecosystems, what does Key Account Management entail in terms of sales organization?  How does one adapt to this new condition of data-driven B2B sales?  Shift to a world of ‘Click and Transact’  In the DemandFarm webinar ‘The Changing Role of Technology in Key Account Management’ featuring Forrester, Rick Bradberry, Principal Analyst & Executive Advisor B2B Sales at Forrester reaffirmed that what we do in terms of sales or account management and interactions with customers has changed a lot, “I would say that COVID actually drove the trend that had existed before the pandemic. And that was a preference that buyers had for self-service experiences.” Consumers have become accustomed to what Rick refers to as the world of “click and transact”. This consumer experience started in the B2B space of e-commerce for consumers. It went from physical products to digital products and these experiences have come into B2B. The SaaS field has amplified this further.   What We Want, When We Want It! This mindset of shifting to self-service is accompanied by a second aspect in the B2B field. These new experiences and preferences created are produced by enabling capabilities.  “Why do we need to still architect these experiences with customers the way we did it 20 years ago?” asks Rick. Consumers, i.e. B2B companies or buyers, or even users of those B2B products, not only prefer to do it themselves, but they are also able to do it because an enabling technology or experience exists that allows them to do so.  Great Expectations! (No, not the novel) The shift to this era of ‘self-service’, in a sense has changed expectations on leaders to deliver experiences with customers as well. For company boards and CEOs, the focus has been retargeted on how to deliver the type of expected self-service experience using technology that customers truly prefer and want to use.  For Rick Bradberry, “That’s where Insights becomes a new mantra for leaders!” In order to be able to deliver customization to customers, one needs an insight-driven approach to how to think about people, processes, talent, and the way the business is run.  Generational Variances… Each generation brings in a completely different perspective within the workforce when it comes to digital compatibility in the sales process. This pertains to both the buyers and the sellers. What sort of culture is sought out also differs as a result. Rick Bradberry shared a few interesting data points in the webinar. According to him, when it comes to self-service in internal app stores, external marketplaces or within any product, “An average Gen X buyer would look to do that 37% of the time. But in Gen Z (the younger generation), this goes up by 10% furthermore to 47%.” Of course, we can’t forget the millennials who stick to about 43%. So, companies have to shift their understanding of the ‘sweet spot’ in B2B digital interactions.  What does this mean for you?  What do these trends say about Key Account Management in a digitally expanding B2B era? Things that have traditionally been done in Key Account Management have now become digitized and improved at the same time. Functions that were done tediously and manually before, are now enabled as capabilities within the technology and tools used by consumers. Such technologies facilitate improved quantitative and qualitative usage to understand your customers better and course-correct how you serve them. This will inevitably lead to better long-term value, bigger deal sizes, better forecasting and accuracy. Check out these 6 key takeaways for a successful digital key account management transformation.  What used to be a struggle when managing accounts before, for example – whitespace, becomes a metric that is easier to improve upon. These capabilities are now quickly being embedded in technology if they haven’t already. Additionally, with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence of AI, analytical tools are also progressively built to improve. Insights, the future of faster functionality, and assisted account planning awaits account management.  Built-in analytical tools do more than what humans are capable of doing in terms of number crunching. What the future holds is perhaps such intelligent tools giving a perspective that might otherwise go unnoticed to human eyes. This might boost functioning in Key Account Management in unparalleled ways!  Check out DemandFarm’s Insights-driven Account Planner to aid your key account management process! 

7 Key Takeaways for a Successful Key Account Management Transformation Journey

7 Secrets to Successful Key Account Management Transformation Journey Digitalizing your key account management practice is like a journey rather than a milestone. Our team has been a part of several successful digital account management transformation journeys. So what did we learn? In this ebook, you will find 7 key takeaways for a successful Key Account Management Transformation Journey. This includes executive-level buy-in, change management, going modular and much more. Learn more vital Digital Key Account Management tips in order to have a successful transformation.